Liquid treating apparatus



Nov. 8, 1955 J. A. TRUlTT 2,722,817

LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Filed on. 29, 1952 INVENTOR. JOSEPH A. TRU/TTA ORNEY.

United States Patent LIQUID TREATING APPARATUS Joseph A. Truitt,West'Chester; Pa.-, assignor toAmerican Viscose Corporation,-Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application October-29,1952, Serial No. 317,445"

6 Claims. (Cl. .68-19) The present invention" relates tothemanufactureand production of synthetic filamentary materials and moreparticularly to novel apparatus for liquid treating such materials,yarns and the like in a uniform and" con trollable manner.

In the manufacture of various types of filamentary materials and yarns,it'is ordinarily customary to process aplurality of individual filamentssimultaneously in the form of'a bundle such as ayarn or tow; In so'doing; however, it has oftentimes beenfound difiicult to properly treatand/or process the entire surface'areacf each" of the individualfilaments properly and uniformly. Moreover, although various proceduresand apparatus forprovidin'gfor uniform treatmentof the continuouslyadvancing' filamentary material-orthe like have 'been devisedand'employed in thepast, particular difficulty has been experiencedinlacing such apparatus in'a' ready and convenient manner.

I It is a principal object of the present" invention" to provideznovelapparatus for liquid treating filamentary materials,-:. yarns and thelike 'ina thorough-and uniform manner.

It is' afurther objectof"thepresent invention to'provide' novel andimproved liquid 7 treating apparatus through which thefilamentarymaterial to he treated may be readily and conveniently laced.

Other objects a and' advantages 1 of Y the present invention will beapparent from 1 the following description;

In the drawing which is illustrative of the present im vention,

Figurel is a side elevational View" of preferred" embodiment of thepresent invention. with a portion 1 thereof shown insection;

Figure 2. is an: end view of i the embodiment shown in F igurez l withpart I of the: trough' broken away;

Rigor-e134 is an -enlarged view in-perspective ofiawde tail offthe;apparatus shown in EigurenZ; and

Figure: 4 isl /a diagrammatic "rviewfiillustratingr at step' in theisimplified lacing-5 procedure which formst a: part of the present tinvention. 4

In general, the improved.- filamentary material' liquid treating;apparatus =-inc1udesan elongated conduit; means for directing; a.treating; liquid through the. conduit in. a

given. direction and. at a. predetermined rate, 7 and; means forcontinuously passing a bundle of filamentary strands through the conduitin the same direction and'substantially'atthe same rate. It hasbeenfound thatrthe liquid treating; processmay be controlledwith"improved accuracy and uniformity in" such a manner.

The hereinafter described apparatus has" been found particularly: usefulwhere; as showndnthe drawings the continuously-"advancing yarn or thelikeis' withdrawn from a conventional thread-advancing device; istreated with l at suitableyarn lubricant;- orz-fihish', and? is?returned to theethread-advancing'; device, In thisway as will bemoreapparenthereinafter; the zyarn may be treated, dried orprocessedninany,suitable manner as itprogresses along the periphery ofthetthread-iadvancing device" Itisztobe 2,722,817 Patented Nov. 8,1955

understood, however, that'the apparatus of'thelpresent inventioncould'alsobe employedin any other conventionaltliquid treating operationwithout departing from the spirit or scope of'the present invention.

A preferredstructural embodiment of the present in vention is showninvFiguresl" through 3'of'the drawing As illustrated therein, theimprovedliquid treating apparatus which is generally designated intheidrawing by the reference numeral'3 is preferably positioned beneatha suitableportion of the filamentary material processing apparatus sothat the filamentarybundle 5 may be conveniently and directly conductedthereto. Accordingly, the liquid treating tank'or the like 6' is shown.in the drawing positioned beneath the thread-advancing device which isgenerallyv designated'by the" reference numeral 4 and which preferablycomprises the drying drum 7Land the roll or the-like 7a canted thereto.-

The liquid treating conduitor'the like 8 which is preferably L-shaped asshown is mounted in any convenient manner on the bracket members or thelike 9 and 10which' are secured'to' the bottomof the treat ing tankGin-any suitable manner such as by the weld ing shown at 11: andextend'upwardly therefrom. The upright extremity 8a of the liquid'treating conduit 8 ispreferably externally threaded as;at 12 to'receivethe internal threads ofthe sleeve member or. thelike 13 which as will beexp'lained 'mom' fully hereinafter. permits control 'andregulation ofthe fluid flow through the conduit. As wilI als ee explained more fullyhereinafter; the treating liquid is preferably delivered; to theconduitsfrom' any suitable source'such as that shown diagrammatically at14 through the conduit or'thelike 15.

It is'to be understood that although not'shown' in the drawing-aplurality ofsleves which-vary in length one from another could be also"used to 'provide' an increased range of" control=of thefltiid ratethrough the" conduits withoutdepartingfrom" the spirit or scope ofth'epresent invention.

As best=shown=in Figure 310i thedrawing a substantial portion: of theupper half of the-conduit 8" preferably adjacent its other extremity iscutaway as at 16." The complementary h'alf 'round tubular casing, cover,or' the like: 17 which" is adapted 'to be clamped 'into position on thecutaway portion of the conduit by any suitable:conventional clampingmembers such as" the resilient: clip members 18 which cooperatewith thenotched portions 18avof" the casing- 17 is preferably notched as at'19and 20 to facilitate the delivery of the continuously advancing tow oryarn' 5'into' conduit S and itsremoval th'erefrom. Theguide support'membersor the like 21' and" 22' are preferably located as shownatopposite extremities of theicasing 17 so as to=aid-incentering theyarnwithin the; conduits when the-casing'is properly positionedi'on itsout away-portion: More specifically "each of the guide support" members"is" preferably recessed as shown to receive the guide inserts 23"whichare formedfr'omnporcelain, glass, many other suitable wear'resistantmaterial and which as will be more apparent hereinafter. are adapted toengage the continuously. advancing material. The resilienttclip members24 whichsare. integral withthe opposite extremitiestoffeach ofthetguidesupport members 21. and 22 andtwhich extendtthrough:thesnotches25in the casing. 17 andupwardly aboutits outer periphery as shownnormally; maintain the guide members; initheir proper position adjacenttheopposite:extremities ofi'the casing.-.

As is best shown in'F-igure 3- of thedrawing 'whenthe half-round tubularcasing; or cover- 17 isrproperly= positioned and secured-tot the conduit8\ and the adjacent extremitiesof the casing and the enclosedportion ofth'e conduit abutione; another, .the: cut? away portion of -the conduitpreferably extends beyond the opposite extremity of the casing. In thisway, though not shown on the drawing, any conventional means forextending or varying the length of the casing could be employed tocontrol the immersion path of the continuously advancing yarn in theconduit.

It is to be understood that, although the conduit 8 is preferably cutaway adjacent an extremity thereof as shown, a central portion of theconduit could instead be cut away to receive the casing 17 withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

The overflow pipe or the like 26 preferably extends as shown in Figure lof the drawing upwardly through the aperture 27 and the conventionalfluid seal 23 positioned on the bottom of the treating tank 6. The upperextremity of the overflow pipe is preferably externally threaded as at29 to receive and cooperate with the interior threads of the adjustingsleeve member 30 positioned thereon. Though not shown on the drawing,the lower extremity of the overflow pipe 26 is preferably connected byany suitable means to a conventional fluid return system or the like.

As shown diagrammatically in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing theconventional adjustable yarn stripping device 31 is preferablypositioned so as to contact the continuously advancing yarn or tow 5 asit proceeds between the discharge extremity of the liquid treatingconduit 8 and the processing apparatus 4. In this way, as will be moreapparent hereinafter, the yarn stripping device 31 serves a dual purposein that it effectively removes excess treating liquid on thecontinuously advancing yarn and simultaneously reduces the yarn tensionduring the liquid treating operation so as to facilitate the separationof the individual filaments of the tow in the conduit 8.

In operation, the continuously advancing yarn or tow 5 which is to beprocessed in accordance with the improved liquid treating apparatus ofthe present invention is conducted, as is best shown in Figure l of thedrawing, from the strand advancing and drying drum combination 7, 7athrough the treating conduit or the like 8 and returned by way of thestripper device 31 to the processing apparatus. As shown in Figure 4 ofthe drawing in order to lace the apparatus, the casing 17 is temporarilyremoved from the cut away portion of the conduit 8 and a loop of theyarn 5 which is relatively resilient and/or pliable is preferably drawndownwardly from the threadadvancing and drier combination 7, 7a. Theclosed end of the loop is then passed through the notches 19 and 20 inthe casing 17, successively through the recesses in the guide inserts 23in the guide members 21 and 22, between the bars of the stripping device31, and back to the thread-advancing device 4. The casing 17 is thenagain secured to the cut away portion of the treating conduit 8 by meansof the conventional clamping members 18. The position of the sleeve onthe upper extremity of the overflow pipe or conduit 26 is then adjustedto properly control the level of the treating liquid 1n the tank 6.Similarly the position of the sleeve 13 on the upper extremity 8a of theconduit 8 is then adjusted to control the velocity of the fluidtherethrough and to maintain it at substantially the same velocity asthe rate at which the continuously advancing yarn or tow travels throughthe conduit 8. When the rates of the flow of the treating liquid and ofthe yarn through the conduit 3 are properly adjusted in this way, andwhen the continuously advancing material is properly threaded throughthe stripper device 31 to reduce the yarn tension during the liquidtreating operation, it has been found that the individual filaments ofthe yarn or tow then tend to separate one from another as bestillustrated in Figure 3 as they proceed through the conduit 8.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, thedescription is intended to be illustrat1ve only and it is to beunderstood that changes and variations may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising an elongated tubular conduit, a substantial lateralportion of the conduit being cut away, means for continuously supplyingthe conduit with controlled amounts of the treating liquid, an elongatemember of arcuate cross section, means for releasably clamping themember to the conduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut awayportion of the conduit, and means including guide members positioned atopposite extremities of said elongate member and notches in thecurvilinear end edges thereof for conducting the filamentary materialinto and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.

2. Liquid treating apparatus for continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising an open trough-like container, an elongated tubularconduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, asubstantial longitudinal portion of the tubular conduit being cut awayadjacent one extremity, means for supplying the conduit with controlledamounts of a treating liquid, means for controlling the level of thetreating liquid in the trough-like container, an elongate member ofarcuate cross section, means for releasably clamping the member to theconduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut away portion of theconduit, and means for conducting a filamentary material, into, through,and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.

3. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubularconduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, asubstantial portion of the tubular conduit being cut away adjacent oneextremity, means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlledamounts of a treating liquid, means for controlling the level of thetreating liquid in the trough-like container, an elongate member ofarcuate cross section, clamping means for securing said member to theconduit to enclose its cut away portion, and means including guidemembers positioned at opposite extremities of the said elongate memberand notches in the curvilinear end edges thereof for conducting thefilamentary material into and out of the enclosed cut away portion ofthe conduit.

4. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubularconduit which is generally positioned along the length thereof, asubstantial longitudinal portion of the tubular conduit being cut awayadjacent one extremity, means for continuously supplying the conduitwith controlled amounts of a treating liquid, an overflow pipe extendingupwardly through the bottom of the container, an adjustable sleevemember positioned on the upper extremity of the overflow pipe, anelongate member of arcuate cross section, means for releasably clampingthe member to the conduit where it is cut away to enclose the cut awayportion of the conduit, and means for conducting the filamentarymaterial into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.

5. Liquid treating apparatus for a continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising an open troughlike container, an elongated tubularconduit which, except for one extremity that extends upwardly out of thecontainer, is generally positioned along the length thereof,substantially one half of the longitudinal portion of the tubularconduit adjacent its opposite extremity being cut away, an adjustablesleeve member positioned on the first-mentioned extremity of theconduit, means for continuously supplying the first-mentioned extremityof the conduit with a treating liquid, an overflow pipe extendingupwardly through the bottom of the container,

an adjustable sleeve member positioned on the upper extremity of theoverflow pipe, an elongate member of arcuate cross section, clampingmeans for releasably securing said elongate member to the conduit toenclose its cutaway portion, and means including guide memberspositioned at opposite extremities of said elongate member and notchesin the curvilinear end edges thereof for conducting the filamentarymaterial into and out of the enclosed cut away portion of the conduit.

6. Apparatus for processing a continuously advancing filamentarymaterial comprising thread-advancing means, an elongated tubularconduit, a substantial lateral portion of the conduit being cut away,means for continuously supplying the conduit with controlled amounts ofa treating liquid, means A for enclosing the cut away portion of theconduit, means for conducting the filamentary material from thethread-advancing means through an enclosed cut away portion of theconduit and back to the thread-advancing means, and means disposed alongthe path of the filamentary material from the conduit back to thethread-advancing means for applying tension to the filamentary materialand for stripping excess liquid therefrom.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. LIQUID TREATING APPARTUS FOR A CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING FILAMENTARYMATERIAL COMPRISING AN ELONGATED TUBULAR CONDUIT, A SUBSTANTIAL LATERALPORTION OF THE CONDUIT BEING CUT AWAY, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY SUPPLYINGTHE CONDUIT WITH CONTROLLED AMOUNTS OF THE TREATING LIQUID, AN ELONGATEMEMBER OF ARCUATE CROSS SECTION, MEANS FOR RELEASABLY CLAMPING THEMEMBER TO THE CONDUIT WHERE IT IS CUT AWAY TO ENCLOSE THE CUT AWAYPORTION OF THE CONDUIT, AND MEANS INCLUDING GUIDE MEMBERS POSITIONED ATOPPOSITE EXTREMITIES OF SAID ELONGATE MEMBER AND NOTCHES IN THECURVILINEAR END EDGES THEREOF FOR CONDUCTING THE FILAMENTARY MATERIALINTO AND OUT OF THE ENCLOSED CUT AWAY PORTION OF THE CONDUIT.